There's Always A Price
by RumpelstiltskinDearie
Summary: Ronan and Ashlin Pennington find their way to Storybrooke by chance-they do not remember who they really are. That alone causes considerable amounts of trouble and confusion. But when they do remember...things get worse.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **This is a "Once Upon A Time" fanfiction. It'll be in the POVs of several characters; two of them are my OCs, Ronan and Ashlin. The other POVs will be the Storybrooke characters, such as Mr. Gold (who will probably be an important part of this fanfiction; he's my all-time favorite TV show character).  
I promise to try my best to make sure that Ronan and Ashlin are NOT Mary-Sues/Gary-Stus. I know firsthand how annoying it is to read a fanfiction with Mary-Sue-ish OCs. I also promise to try my best to keep the Storybrooke characters true to their TV show counterparts. Please forgive me if I change Mr. Gold's personality a bit, unintentionally—like I said, he's my favorite favorite favorite character, so I might make him a little nicer/more sympathetic. Unintentionally, not on purpose.  
So…yes! I do not own any of the "Once Upon A Time" characters (even though I wish I did)! Ronan and Ashlin are my own creations. I hope you enjoy this, and reviews are encouraged. : )

Ronan risked throwing a glance over his shoulder. The men were still in hot pursuit. His sister Ashlin was right behind him. Her coppery-colored hair was wild, and she was breathing hard.

He turned back to the road in front of him. They had just entered a town. _Maybe someone here can help us…_

He could hear Ashlin's footsteps behind him. Then, suddenly…they faltered and stopped.

Ronan skidded to a stop on the sidewalk, spun around, and ran back. Ashlin had fallen and was struggling to force her clearly aching muscles to work.

Ronan grabbed Ashlin's arms, pulled her to her feet, and shoved her out of the way, just as the five men caught up.

One of them plowed straight into Ronan. He managed to stand his ground, and used the other man's momentum to throw him to the ground.

Ronan got into a half-crouch to maintain his balance, keeping his eyes on his opponents. The fellow who seemed to be in charge was a large man with longish, unkempt hair and deep-set gray eyes.

Then two of the men charged him. Ronan seized one of them by the arm, and twisted it backwards. There was a sharp crack, and the man howled.

The second attacker lunged for Ronan and tackled him to the ground, where they rolled back and forth for several minutes, each grappling for the upper hand.

After being hit in the face repeatedly, Ronan's vision began to go blurry. Just then, there was the sound of a gunshot. The weight on top of Ronan disappeared.

He staggered to his feet just in time to see all five of his attackers disappearing down the road out of town. He watched them go, brow furrowed. Then, with fear, he remembered Ashlin.

"Ash! Ash, where are you?" he called, keeping his voice low but urgent. He turned around, searching for his sister. There were several residents of the town standing in the street watching him, but he would deal with them later.

Just as he was beginning to think that Ashlin had run away, there was a quiet scuffling sound from an alleyway to his right. He looked that way and saw his sister creep out, in a crouch and still half-hidden in the shadows.

"Ashlin, it's okay. They're gone for now." Ronan extended a hand, then, realizing it had blood all over it from where he had scraped it on the pavement, lowered it and offered her his other hand.

She took his hand and he helped her to her feet. Then he turned to face the curious people in the street, careful to keep his sister behind him.

There were two women, three men, and a young boy who looked to be about eleven or twelve. Ronan fixed them with a suspicious stare. "Which one of you fired the gun?"

"That would be Sheriff Emma Swan," said one of the men, gesturing at the blond lady standing next to him.

"Thank you, ma'am," Ronan said, nodding at the sheriff. "I wasn't faring too well there."

"Were you planning on coming here, or was it just an accidental thing that happened on your mad dash to escape those guys?" asked Emma.

Ronan paused. "Accidental, to tell you the truth. They've been following us for a while, but we've always been one step ahead of them. They caught up earlier this morning and started chasing us."

"Who are you, anyway? I mean, what are your names?" Emma inquired. Ronan could tell that she was collecting information.

"I'm Ronan. Ronan Pennington. This is Ashlin." He jerked his head back slightly, indicating Ashlin without actually looking at her. Too much attention made her nervous.

"Well, nice to meet you," said the man who had spoken first. "I'm August Booth. The lady in black is the mayor, Regina. That little boy is Henry, and that's Mr. Gold."

Ronan nodded at Mr. Gold, who gave a terse nod back. His face was expressionless, so there was no telling what he was thinking.

Henry, however, was different. He was staring at Ashlin with a thoughtful look on his face.

"It's nice to meet you all, but we should be going now," Ronan said. "We didn't plan on staying here."

"You should stay for a few days," August said. "Those guys are probably going to be lying in wait for you two for at least a week."

Ronan frowned. "No, I—"

Suddenly, Henry came forward and stood in front of Ashlin. "Hi, Ashlin! I'm Henry."

"I—I heard," Ashlin said quietly, her voice shaking a little. "I'm Ashlin."

"I know, I heard." Henry grinned. "Do you like to read?"

"Henry…" Emma sounded like she was warning him about something.

"Yes, when I get the time," Ashlin replied.

"I have a really good book!" Henry said. "It's in my backpack at the diner; why don't you come and see?"

Ashlin's facial expression was one of nervous surprise. Henry started towards the diner, tugging gently on her hand.

"Ronan?" She looked to him for approval.

He shrugged. "If you want…"

She followed Henry, who was still pulling on her hand. The two disappeared into the diner.

"Sorry, he can get a little excited when it comes to books," Emma said.

"It's fine," Ronan answered. "Ashlin can be…withdrawn at times. Any time she agrees to go and do something normal—like reading—it's a good thing."

"Are you her uncle?" asked Regina.

Ronan raised his eyebrows, taken aback. "No, I'm her brother."

"You look a little old to be her brother." She sounded suspicious. "And you look nothing like her."

"I'm only twenty-one; she's sixteen. And she was adopted," Ronan said tensely, feeling slightly offended.

"Oh." Regina nodded, but Ronan sensed that she was refraining from saying something else.

"So will you stay for a while?" asked Emma. "You don't want to risk running into those men again."

Ronan hesitated, and then nodded. "Ashlin and I can camp out in the field just outside of town. We're used to it."

"All right, if you want to," Emma said.

Ronan nodded. "We've slept in worse places than that field."

"If you don't mind my asking, where are your parents?" inquired August. "Or…family, at any rate?"

"Dead," Ronan said tersely, his face darkening. "It was an accident. They went camping, left me at home to watch Ashlin. We got a call the next morning from the police saying they had found our parents' bodies in a ravine, knifed to death." He swallowed hard to keep the tears back. _I'm not going to cry in front of these people…_

Mr. Gold and Regina—most likely the both of them felt rather uncomfortable—turned and left, going into a shop down the road a ways. Ronan was glad they were gone; Mr. Gold's emotions and thoughts were too hard to read, and Regina seemed unfriendly.

"Well, I'm…sorry," Emma said.

Ronan shook his head. "Not your fault. I think I'll go get Ash now and take her out to the field. Thank you for letting us stay on here for a few days."

"No problem." August offered his hand, and Ronan shook it.

With that, Ronan made his way to the diner and walked in. Ashlin was at a table near the back with Henry, bent over a book.

He walked over to them. "Ash?"

Both of them looked up. Ashlin had a strange look on her face; slightly confused and dazed. When she saw him, though, her expression slowly returned to normal.

"Yes, Ronan?" She leaned back to look up at him.

"The sheriff said we could stay in the field just outside of town for a few days, until we're sure those men aren't going to be after us again." Ronan cast a glance at the book on the table. It appeared to be a storybook of some sort.

Henry reached across the table, taking the book back and putting it into his backpack. "Do you want to come back tomorrow and read some more of the book, Ashlin?"

"Sure," Ashlin replied, smiling. "It's…very interesting." She slid out of the booth and stood up. "I'll see you later, Henry."

"See you later." He got up too and left the diner.

Ronan opened the door and waited until Ashlin had walked outside before following. She was silent on the way to the field, and he stayed quiet as well. There was something…peculiar about this town, one that he couldn't place his finger on. Until then, he intended to try and keep an eye on Ashlin; she had a knack for getting into trouble.

And trouble was something they didn't need any more of.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **I forgot to mention that the plotline of this has changed somewhat from the actual show. Henry was the one to convince Emma of her true identity. But in my version of the story, August Booth is still alive and well, and Mr. Gold hasn't brought magic back to Storybrooke yet. There might be other things that aren't the same as the show as well, but bear with me here; it's a fanfiction, anything can happen.

~~~~

**So just give it one more try to a lullaby  
And turn this up on the radio  
If you can hear me now  
I'm reaching out  
To let you know that you're not alone**  
_Nickelback – "Lullaby"  
_

~~~~

Later that afternoon, just as the sun was going down, many people were discussing the new arrivals. Two of these people were August Booth and Henry Mills. They were sitting in the diner. August had a cup of coffee in front of him.

"They seem to be pretty nice kids. A little cautious, but nice," August said.

"They are nice. Ashlin isn't as shy as it seems at first; she just needs to get used to people," Henry replied.

"I wonder who they could be?" August mused, taking a sip of coffee. "Not many folks find their way here accidentally; they usually belong here in the first place. Plus, they were being chased. That's not normal."

"I showed Ashlin the book today. She skimmed through it, but didn't actually stop to read until she reached 'Little Red Riding Hood'," Henry said. "But she didn't seem like it was bringing up any memories."

"Did any of the stories seem to strike a chord with her?" asked August. "If they didn't, maybe you should try showing the book to her brother Ronan."

"She got a funny look on her face when she came to the 'Alice in Wonderland' story, like she recognized something from it," Henry answered. "I bet that's who she is. But Alice didn't have a brother, I don't think…"

"Ronan said she's adopted," August said. "But he seems more like the fairy tale character than she does, if you ask me. He knows how to hold his own in a fight; not many 'modern' people do."

Henry frowned. "Maybe he is."

August shrugged. "The important thing is to try to convince them to stay here, at least until we figure out who they are. If they try to leave Storybrooke before we find out…" He trailed off, fully aware that Henry knew what would happen.

"They'll die," Henry finished, his voice sounding too serious for a young boy.

August nodded, leaning back. "Well, you try and convince Ashlin. She's not likely to believe anyone else but you. As for Ronan…I'll try to work on him. Something tells me it won't be easy though."

"It can't be any harder than trying to convince Emma," Henry said, grinning.

"No, it can't." August laughed quietly. "Then again, you were the one who got her to believe, not me."

"Ronan will be easier," Henry proclaimed, with the determined assuredness only a young boy could have.

"I hope you're right," August said. He glanced out the window. "Regina is going to come by any minute to take you home. She probably won't like it if you're talking with me, so I'll just get back home. You take care, and I'll see you soon."

"You too," Henry replied. He watched as August finished his coffee, went outside, and started up his motorcycle. A few moments later, he sped away into the rapidly-falling night.

Henry took the chance to take his book out of his backpack and look at it. The cover was worn, but still intact; the words _Once Upon A Time _were embossed on it.

He opened the book and turned through the pages. After all this time, it still amazed him that many of the fairy tale characters he had read about in the book were real, and lived in his very own town.

Including the Evil Queen. His mother.

He stopped at the 'Alice in Wonderland' story and started to read it. But before he could finish the whole, he heard the door to the diner being opened. He looked up. Regina was coming towards him.

Hastily, Henry closed the book and pushed it into his backpack, just as Regina came up to the table.

"Just finishing up some homework," Henry told her, meeting her eyes.

"Well, good. Come on, it's time to go home." Regina waited as Henry got out of the booth and put his backpack on. Then they headed out to the car.

"What do you think of Ashlin and Ronan?" Henry asked as they drove in the direction of home.

"Who—oh, them. I'm not sure. They're orphans, and orphans are usually unpredictable. I don't think you should talk to them, Henry."

"Why not? They seem nice." Henry frowned.

"Many people who seem nice are actually the complete opposite," Regina said. "I don't want you talking to them."

"Can't I keep talking to Ashlin? She's really friendly," Henry pleaded, feeling desperate. "Please?"

Regina sighed. "Fine. But don't speak to her brother. He definitely looks like trouble."

Henry lowered his head to hide the triumphant smile on his face, pretending to re-tie his shoelaces.

~ ~ ~

"Why did you agree to stay here for a few days, Ro?" inquired Ashlin. It was dark outside, but the moon was full and cast enough light down so that she could see clearly.

"Because they're right. Those men will be after us as soon as we leave town. Besides, we need to rest, Ash. You must be exhausted." Ronan sat down and leaned against a tree. He had put his belongings there earlier that day—a notebook, a knife that he owned, some pens, and his guitar. He had nothing else but the clothes on his back.

"No, I'm not." Ashlin sat down in front of him, rubbing blades of grass between her fingers.

"It's no use hiding the truth, Ashlin. I know you're exhausted, because I am too. And if I'm tired, than you're dead on your feet. There's no way possible that you've still got energy left; we've been walking for nearly four straight days, and we ran for nearly a half-hour this morning. Anyone would be worn out after that."

Ashlin sighed. "You're right. I am."

"Okay, then. We'll stay here for a week or so, and continue on our way after that," Ronan said. He peered at Ashlin for a minute, studying her. "Are you okay?"

She sighed again. "No. I miss them, Ro…they weren't my real parents, but I miss them. Sometimes I wonder if I'll be able to go on. Sometimes…sometimes I don't want to."

"Hey, don't talk like that. Mom and Dad wouldn't have liked it. You can go on, and you will. I have faith in you, Ash." He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes—her words had dredged up memories he himself didn't want to think about. "You'll be fine. And I'll always be here for you, I promise."

He picked up his guitar and rested it on his lap. "Now, I'll sing you something before you go to sleep. Any special requests?"

"Play that song of mine you put a tune to a week ago. You know…_Broken Dreams_?" Ashlin said quietly. She got up and moved over to lie down next to Ronan.

"Right." Ronan tuned the guitar, then began to play. A few seconds later, he started to sing:

_Broken pieces of broken dreams,  
That's all that's left of me,  
Like a world where no one sings,  
Like a dove with broken wings,  
These are what's left of my dreams,  
Dreams falling on the pavement,  
Dreams crashing to the cold cement,  
Broken dreams, broken dreams,  
All that's left of me._

I'm trying to get myself to believe,  
That all my dreams were nonsense,  
Silly dreams of a lovesick conscience,  
Figments of a hopeful imagination.

Broken pieces of broken dreams,  
That's all that's left of me,  
Like a world where no one sings,  
Like a dove with broken wings,  
These are what's left of my dreams,  
Dreams falling on the pavement,  
Dreams crashing to the cold cement,  
Broken dreams, broken dreams,  
All that's left of me.

They all say, 'better to have loved and lost',  
I don't think they understand the cost,  
Of someone who cared, someone who loved,  
Only to find that all that would soon be gone.

All those dreams were crushed,  
Thrown down into the dust,  
A rebelling voice swiftly silenced,  
A pleading cry cruelly hushed…

The song ended, and Ronan leaned back against the tree again. He could hear Ashlin's breathing beside him; each breath was deep and regular. She was asleep.

Ronan set the guitar down next to the tree and zipped up his sweatshirt. He knew he should sleep; it was doubtful that someone would attack them in the night. But his instincts refused to let him relax, and he lay there, vigilantly keeping watch.

~~~~

**Author's Note: **"Broken Dreams" is, in fact, a song I wrote. Please do not use it without my permission.__

_  
_


	3. Chapter 3

**Small town, parts of the new year,  
Brought down by gravity, crystal-clear.  
City fog and brave dialogue,  
Converge on the frontier.  
**_Owl City – "Rainbow Veins"_

-X-X-X-

Chapter Three  
Everything New

Ashlin awoke to the sound of voices. She yawned, and sat up, blinking drowsily.

Ronan was talking to the boy she had met the day before…Henry, that was it. She got to her feet, curiously watching.

Henry spotted her and grinned. Ronan, who had his back to her, glanced over his shoulder.

"Oh, you're awake," he said. "I was just telling Henry here to wait until you woke up, but I guess I didn't have to."

"Hi, Henry." Ashlin smiled back at him.

"Hi," he replied. "I was thinking I could show you around, if you wanted to."

"Don't you have school?" asked Ronan. He ran a hand through his dark blond hair, stifling a yawn.

"It's a Sunday, so there's no school," Henry explained.

"Well, sure, I'd love to come," Ashlin said. She looked over at Ronan. "Ro, what are you going to be doing today?"

"I don't know. I'll probably look around for a job I can get or something." He brushed off his sweatshirt. "We could use the money; we're broke."

"All right, I'll come back here when Henry's finished showing me around," Ashlin said.

"Have fun." Ronan busied himself with attempting to return a level of neatness to his rumpled clothes.

Ashlin followed Henry through the field. "I never caught the name of your town; what is it?"

"Storybrooke," Henry replied. "There's a special reason for that. I'll tell you about it later."

"Okay." Ashlin sped her pace so that she was walking beside Henry. "Are the people in town nice?"

"Most of them are," Henry replied. "Only a few of them are actually mean, and they don't come around town very often; they live on the outskirts." He didn't mention his mother.

"Well, that's good," Ashlin remarked. She climbed over a fence, landing on the stone path on the other side. "The townsfolk in a lot of other places me and Ronan stayed at weren't very nice at all."

"Storybrooke is a great place," Henry promised. "You'll like it here."

"I'm sure I will," Ashlin said.

A few minutes later, they reached town. Henry stopped outside of the town shrink's office and started to say something, when suddenly Ashlin felt someone put a hand on her shoulder. She nearly jumped a foot in the air, and spun around, jerking away from whoever it was.

It was one of the men from the day before. She didn't recall his name; maybe she hadn't heard it in the first place.

Henry heard the commotion and turned. "Oh. Ashlin, this is August. He's a writer."

Ashlin regarded August with some nervous curiosity. He gave her a reassuring smile.

"I'm sorry if I startled you. It's nice to meet you. I talked with your brother yesterday; really nice fellow."

Maybe it was simply Ashlin's imagination, but August sounded a little awkward. _Maybe… _she thought. _Maybe he's just as uncomfortable with me as I am with him._

The possibility emboldened her slightly, and she nodded. "He is. I'm very lucky to have a brother like him." And she meant it.

"You certainly are." August glanced at Henry, and it looked as though an unspoken conversation was going on between them.

August looked back at her a moment later. "I'd love to stay and talk some more, but I have some things to do back home. I'll see you around, Ashlin."

Before she could think of a suitable answer, he had gotten on his motorcycle and sped away.

"August is one of my best friends," Henry told Ashlin.

"Don't you have any friends your own age?" she asked bewilderedly, following Henry as he began to walk down the street again, forgetting completely about the shrink's office.

"Not really. They're scared of my mom," Henry explained.

"Who is your mother, exactly?"

"Mayor Regina Mills. She was the dark-haired lady in the group of people that met you and your brother yesterday. But she's not my _real _mom; she adopted me." He spoke with lighthearted tones, which slightly confused Ashlin.

"Oh…I guess I can understand why they're scared of her. She looks rather strict and unfriendly," Ashlin said. Then she caught herself and blushed, extremely embarrassed. "N-no offense meant, of c-course."

"None taken. You're right about her anyway," Henry answered. "It's okay. Look, this is the library. It's one of my favorite places to go."

Ashlin peered at the small building. It looked more like a church than a library. She noticed a sign hanging on the door that read: **HELP NEEDED**. She filed that away in her mind to tell Ronan about later on.

"Do you want to go inside and look around?" Henry asked.

Ashlin shook her head. "Maybe another time. Right now, I'd like to see some more of town."

"All right!" He continued leading her down the street, pointing out each establishment and who owned it.

They stopped briefly outside of a medium-sized building that would have appeared to be abandoned if not for the plethora of items that could be seen through the window. Henry gestured towards it. "This is Mr. Gold's pawnbroker shop. He kind of seems to be unfriendly at first, but he just likes to keep to himself. He's not really that bad; no one is."

Ashlin disagreed with that statement—there were people in the world that were downright bad—but, timid as she was, she said nothing and instead peered through the window.

Mr. Gold was inside, behind the counter. He was preoccupied with something—several pieces of paper that he held in his hand—and hadn't noticed the two kids outside. There was no one else inside the shop, and nothing to indicate that anyone else lived there; there weren't any children's toys lying around, and the place looked ramshackle and dusty, suggesting that there was no woman around to clean up.

Ashlin stepped back before she was spotted. "Maybe he's just lonely." She knew how that felt, and she had seen many people who were lonely—they often seemed unkind or unfriendly. Even Ronan had gotten that way for a time, after their parents had died.

Henry shrugged. "Maybe. Come on; let's go back to the diner. My mom gave me some money for lunch. There's enough to buy something for both of us."

"No, I couldn't…" Ashlin protested weakly, but Henry tugged on her arm, refusing to listen.

A few minutes later, they were once again seated at a booth at the diner, waiting for their food. Henry reached into his backpack and pulled his book out.

"Do you want to keep looking at the book?" he asked.

Ashlin hesitated, remembering the day before. The Little Red Riding Hood story had caught her attention, but when she had come to 'Alice in Wonderland', something strange had happened. She had gotten a bizarre sense of déjà vu; as though everything that was happening in the story had already happened to her. That she had actually been there.

It had been frightening, but so fascinating at the same time.

"Yes," she said to Henry. "I'd like that."

He moved over so that he was next to her and slid the book into a position where both of them could look at it.

Henry didn't turn the pages, so Ashlin assumed he wanted her to. She slowly began flipping through the book. Most of the stories sounded familiar—'Sleeping Beauty'; 'Cinderella'; 'The Little Mermaid'; 'Pinocchio'; and several others.

But again, just like yesterday, she stopped turning pages once she reached 'Alice in Wonderland'. It was almost instinctive; she hadn't even thought about it, it had simply happened.

"Do you like that story?" asked Henry.

"I'm not very familiar with it…" Ashlin murmured, reading through the first page and moving onto the next.

Henry waited patiently until Ashlin stopped reading.

"Ashlin," he said. "I have something to tell you. I don't want you to be upset by it, or at least try not to panic."

Ashlin eyed him anxiously, then nodded. "All right."

"All of these fairy tales, like 'Little Red Riding Hood' and 'Beauty and the Beast'—they're real. Everyone in this town is a character from those fairy tales. Mary Margaret, my teacher at school, she's Snow White. And my mother…she's the Evil Queen."

Ashlin stared at him in disbelief. "I—I don't…" she stammered.

"Please don't say that you don't believe me," Henry pleaded. "It's true, I swear!"

Ashlin buried her face in her hands for a long moment before gaining the courage to look up. "I've been lied to and tricked too many times in my life," she said. "I can't risk believing you now, especially not when it sounds so…so outrageous."

Henry's expression was one of desperation. "But it's true! And you—didn't you feel something when you read 'Alice in Wonderland'? Something like…like when something you see or hear reminds you of something you had forgotten long ago? I think you might be Alice!"

"Me? Alice in Wonderland? It's too unbelievable!" Ashlin burst out. Her throat was tightening; she was close to tears. "I'm sorry, I have to go." She got out of the booth and hurried out the door.

The last thing she heard was Henry's voice calling after her, "I'm sorry! Don't leave…!"

-X-X-X-

**Author's Note: **I don't remember whether Mr. Gold lives in a house or in his shop, so I decided to pretend that he lives in a room above his pawnbroker store. Don't flame me if I'm wrong; just let me know so I can change it.


End file.
